Brilliant Speed holds some interest for me. As far as my limited math abilities can discern, he went his last 1/8 in 11 3/5 and a last 3/8 in 34 2/5. That seems pretty snappy since Aikenite went his last 3/8 in 36 2/5 in a G2 sprint on the same day. Brilliant Speed also has some pedigree appeal since his 3rd dam dropped Touch Gold and With Approval.
If the Bluegrass is the true bill, can he show similar ability on a dirt surface? His works at Churchill may give a hint.
Last year I fell for Stately Victor\'s amazing final 3/8 in the
Blue Grass. And fwiw, he had a better dirt race showing than Brilliant Speed does.
Who knows Ill-Bred. If it wasn\'t a soupy, sloppy mess last year perhaps many would have run better, including SV. We\'ll never know
There can be no question that synthetic form does not often translate into dirt form. In a year where there are obvious holes in most of the \"logical\" contenders, however, the Bluegrass winner deserves consideration. This is particularly true given his 22 4/5 fourth quarter that was followed by an 11 3/5 last eighth. Moreover, his stamina-oriented distaff pedigree, standing by itself, is deserving of some respect.
My contrarian nature also leads me to give consideration to Master of Hounds who ran very well off a layoff in the Dubai Derby and has a stout pedigree. Again, it takes a leap of faith to believe that he\'ll take to the dirt. In this regard, it also takes some faith to bet shorter priced contenders who have not proven they\'re fast enough and/or appear to have distance limitations.
Although he has a name that sounds as if he should be running at Fingerlakes, I find Pants On Fire to be of interest. He was just getting off antibiotics for a lung infection when he won the La. Derby (Funny Cide also received this treatment for the same condition prior to his Tripple Crown run). He has tactical speed in a race that may have lost some frontrunners recently. POF also has stamina in his distaff pedigree and absolutely sizzled in his recent 58 3/5 work at Palm Meadows. I think he\'s worth a look.
Good luck to all.